Cinderella Busted (The Cinderella Romances #1) (29 page)

Tammy spotted them and sauntered out onto the front porch. “Heck of thing when a crew shows up and plants your annuals bed for you,” she said. “Of course, I’m going to get a lot of questions from customers about what they spelled. What do you want me to tell them, boss?”

Lily couldn’t take her eyes off the marigolds. Ever the grower, Rob climbed out of the cart to check the planting technique and see if the annuals needed water.

Tammy grinned at her. “I called Garrett, and he’s stopping by. He couldn’t stop laughing and says he has to get a look at what Rhett did all by himself.”

That did get Lily’s attention. “Garrett didn’t take care of this?”

“Nope. He didn’t know anything about it. Rhett must have done it all on his own, just like everything else he did this week. Garrett was in the dark about all of it.”

“What now, Lily?” Rob asked, getting to his feet.

“I’m still not going to speak to him,” Lily said on the verge of tears. “He can’t just send over a bunch of flowers and expect me to run right back to him. He hurt me. I hate him.” She took off for the cottage at a dead run.

The nursery workers had already gone home Thursday evening, so Lily was surprised to hear Tammy’s page on the outside nursery speakers and trotted to the closest house phone at the annuals greenhouse. “What’s up?” she asked when she dialed in to the office.

“There’s an attorney on the phone, Lil,” Tammy said without preamble. “A Carstairs Whittenhurst the Third. Not the second mind you, but the third. Are you in the middle of something?”

“Just taking a load of potting soil to the shadehouse. It’s after five and late for an attorney to be calling. Did the guy say what he wanted?”

“Maybe he only intended to leave a voicemail,” Tammy said, “but I couldn’t get a peep out of him. Could be anything, but with your hearing before the Special Code Compliance Magistrate next week, I have a hunch that may be what he’s calling about. You never get calls from attorneys.”

Lily was in the front office minutes later, and she took the call in Tammy’s office, thankful Tammy had stayed behind for moral support.

Lily put Whittenhurst on speaker. “This is Lily Foster.”

“Ms. Foster, this is Carstairs Whittenhurst the Third.”

Lily rolled her eyes at Tammy. “What can I do for you, Mr. Whittenhurst?”

“On behalf of my client, I have filed an injunction. Your residence located at a commercial site violates Jupiter City Code, Chapter 4.208.”

“So it’s you who’s causing me all this trouble. Who is your client, Mr. Whittenhurst? I’d like to speak to him or her and ask why they should care whether I live at my nursery or not.”

“I represent my client, Ms. Foster, in any and all land negotiations, and as a good citizen and ethical barrister, I felt compelled to bring your code violation to the city’s attention.”

“Approval to have my residence at this commercial site is grandfathered, since the code prohibiting my residence here wasn’t written until years after we moved in, and—”

“And the state of Florida does not support a grandfathered status following a change in ownership or a renovation exceeding fifty percent of the total value of the property venue renovated,” he retorted. “Your initial building expansion after the original purchase was enough to lose your so-called
grandfathered
status, as you call it, and requires you to conform to existing code.”

Lily cast a stricken look at Tammy as she felt her panic rising. Tammy gave her a helpless shrug.

“Would you like me to cite the appropriate section of the code?” Whittenhurst asked.

The condescension in his tone infuriated Lily. “No, I would not. What I
would
like is to know why you are doing this, and I want the name of your client.”

“You will deal with me and only me in this matter, so don’t bother asking about my client again. The why is simple. We would like to purchase your property, all one hundred acres of it, and we are willing to purchase it outright or offer a comparably valued property inland, should you wish to relocate your nursery.”

“My nursery isn’t for sale, Mr. Whittenhurst!” she exclaimed.

Undaunted, he continued as though she hadn’t said a word. “And you must consider whether you can run your nursery as effectively without being in residence. The parcel we’re prepared to offer you has no such code restriction as the land parcel lies outside the city limits, and you would be well within your legal rights to maintain your home on-site.”

“I’m within my legal rights to live right here until the Jupiter Town Council, and not you, tells me different,” she snapped, her patience at an end.

He had the audacity to chuckle. “It’s merely a formality at this point, Ms. Foster. My offer is most generous now, however if you continue to fight our purchase, I’m sure the city will find other code violations as well, each decreasing the overall value of the commercial property and subsequently detracting from any future offers.”

“How dare you!” she said indignantly. “That’s blackmail and extortion, and I won’t stand for it. I’ll report you!”

The chuckle erupted again, sounding uglier this time. “Be my guest. You’ll only hasten the eventual result and a faster visit from a code enforcement officer. So, what will it be?”

Tammy stared wide-eyed and mouthed,
What do we do?

Lily narrowed her eyes. “What will it be? Since you won’t name your client, Mr. Whittenhurst,
you
can be the one to kiss my ass!” She pounded the little red good-bye button with her fist.

“Lily, we’re in big trouble.”

Lily and Tammy found Rob in one of the greenhouses after the Whittenhurst call, and the three talked for almost two hours. Tammy and Rob finally headed for home, and Lily sat alone in the darkened nursery office, feeling positively morose. The news was worse than she had expected. The nursery was littered with dozens of code violations, nothing drastic enough to cause structural damage or endanger the safety of Bloom & Grow employees, but violations nonetheless. All had been discovered during a thorough hurricane inspection by an insurance company consultant.

Rob had ordered the inspection in an effort to lower their hurricane deductible, and in the course of the inspection, the consultant—being totally up-to-date on state and local building codes—had happily pointed out their myriad deficiencies. The consultant had informed Rob the violations were small enough in nature that only an inspector or someone in that line of work would even notice, so they shouldn’t feel badly about the discovery.

Rob had planned to have all the issues repaired as time and money allowed, but no way could the repairs all happen before the meeting at Jupiter Town Hall. He hadn’t thought to mention them to Lily and worry her since he had planned to take care of them as soon as possible.

Rob had suggested calling his personal attorney, but the violations actually existed and had already been documented. His attorney couldn’t make the violations disappear. At least, Lily would still have the Code Enforcement Department manager there with her to vouch for her right to remain in her cottage. The Special Magistrate
had
to rule in her favor.

To add insult to injury, she’d be forced to go into her trust fund for the very first time to fix all the code violations at once since she hadn’t planned for that level of expenditure in her fiscal budget. The unfairness of the situation grated on her. Code violations discovered only a couple weeks ago would be held aloft like dirty laundry for the whole world to see.

No way would she let them force her to leave her childhood home. She vowed long ago never to give up the nursery’s location, regardless of her circumstances. She’d fight to the death for Hank’s spot on the Intracoastal Waterway. Okay maybe that was over the top, but she refused to give in. Hank had chosen this site, and for that reason alone, the nursery would stay right where it was.

She had fought back tears ever since the Whittenhurst call, but sitting here all alone in the dark had worn down her resolve. She could feel the tears burning behind her eyelids, and she desperately wished Hank could be here to help her.

She struggled to her feet. She needed to get to the cottage where she could have a good cry in peace. Just the thought of the cottage brought on a fresh supply of tears. How many nights did she have left in her home? Maybe she could just rent an apartment to have a legal address and still quietly slip back here every night. She brushed away the few escaping tears.

No. Lily Foster is a rule follower. If the law says I can’t live here, then I won’t.

She locked the front office door and headed out the back to go to her cottage. The air had chilled when she finally stepped outside, the suffocating heat in abeyance. She would normally go for a jog at this time of night, but she felt too overwhelmed. She locked the back door, pocketed her keys, and turned for the gravel drive.

“Lily.”

Her breath caught in her throat, and a momentary panic hit hard. She knew that voice and gazed into the shadows at the corner of the building. The light over the back door cast just enough illumination to make out Rhett’s form in the twilight beneath the trees. He looked even larger than she remembered, broader somehow, though she’d last seen him less than a week ago.

He didn’t move. He just stood there and waited for her to do or say something.

Except Lily felt paralyzed. It had been so easy to remain angry when she hadn’t been able to see him or hear his voice. Gazing through the shadows at the stark outlines of his handsome face and hearing the deep timbre in his voice thrummed every nerve ending in her body.

Still he waited, and the silence seemed interminable. No doubt silence was one of his best negotiating ploys, and the thought perked a shot of adrenaline into her system. She wasn’t some company he could walk in and take over or run right over. His tactics wouldn’t work here. Some of her fire returned, and she recalled his heated words at the barbecue. Even now, days later, the words still carried a painful sting.

“You’re trespassing,” she said softly and wished she could have sounded more firm, but she had trouble getting air into her lungs.

“Yes.”

That’s it? Just yes?

She waited.

So did he.

Eventually impatience won out. “Why are you here?” she demanded. “What do you want?”

“I want to talk to you.”

He took one step forward, nearer the light, and paused as though fearful she would run. He had gotten close before she spotted him. Now only ten feet separated them. She felt a pang of alarm, wanting desperately to stand her ground and yet fearful she might charge straight into his well-muscled arms.

“Haven’t you said enough?” she asked. “What could be left to say?”

“I’m sorry, for starters.”

He took another step, and she did consider bolting. Would he give chase? He could surely catch her in a few strides. If he pulled her into his arms, she was lost. She couldn’t risk that. She couldn’t let him hurt her again. The risk was too great. The pain was too much. Almost as bad as losing Hank. She needed to hate Rhett Buchanan. She wanted to. Safer that way.

She couldn’t.

“I was wrong, Lily. So very wrong.” His voice came low and soft through the shadows, like passionflower vines twining around and pulling her close.

“Yes, you were.”

“I was a damn fool, too. I’ve spent my entire life either not good enough and too poor to fit in with the other kids or surrounded by people who only wanted to get close to me
because
of my money. There was never any in-between for me. Until you. You were different. You wanted me for me, and I fell hard for you because I’d been searching for someone like you my whole life. When I thought you were—” He paused.

There was just enough light around him she could see his jaw muscles flex.

“—masquerading as someone I wasn’t, you insisted on believing I set a trap,” she said stiffly.

He winced. “I’m sorry. When I thought, what I thought, I felt so betrayed and hurt, so mad about losing what we had, I went a little crazy.”

She lifted her brows. “A little?”

“Okay, a lot. I had no right to say all those things to you. Even before Shaw set me straight, I think I knew deep in my heart none of those things could be true. But seeing you at the gala with Shaw and then at the barbecue with that horn dog, Aidan Cross, I was so angry I couldn’t see straight. I don’t think I knew what I was saying at the barbecue. I just knew I didn’t want either of those guys with you, touching you. Lily, I will do anything to make it up to you. I was wrong, and I have never in my life been so glad to be utterly and completely wrong about someone.”

Somehow he’d eased to within a few feet of her. The floodlight near the back door allowed her to see him clearly now. She lost herself in his gaze. He stared as though willing her to see into his soul. He’d gone deathly still. He didn’t blink. His eyes looked so trusting, so confident she would make the right decision in this life-altering moment between them. She felt overwhelmed by the impact her next few words would make.

“Forgive others, if you expect forgiveness yourself,” Hank always said.

Eyes really are a gateway to the soul if one is patient, and suddenly she saw the truth. Rhett had hurt her out of fear and insecurity, not for lack of caring or emotion. He had cared too much, and his own vulnerability had blinded him. He now trusted her to make the right choice for both of them. He had left the choice up to her.

She
could
trust Rhett! She knew it like she knew the sun would rise tomorrow. She knew with a certainty that made her feel lightheaded, and she knew with just as much certainty she loved this man. He had bared his heart, and now he waited for her answer.

She watched the confidence in his eyes turn into questions. Would Lily rant? Would she be calm? Would she forgive him? Did he still have a chance?